Wednesday, July 6, 2011

By the age of 18, the average American has witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on television, most of them occurring during Game 1 of the NHL playoff series. ~Steve Rushin

Hockey is fast paced, hard hitting game, contesting the skills and might of individuals and teams alike against one another on the ice. This is not a game for the feint of heart and is often a very physical sport which can take a toll on the bodies of adult players, let alone the younger versions of these giants. Most players start when they are very young and before they are celebrating with their teammates, Stanley Cup in hand, they have to put in the time and effort learning the fundamentals of the game and honing their skills starting in the peewee leagues.

In a recent initiative by USA Hockey, the board members have voted to remove body checking from the peewee leagues in an effort to curb career ending injuries. Young players will learn the basics of solid game play and gradually learn how to body check the right way. When players reach the Bantam age level of 13-14, they will be able to play with body checking and physically withstand the force that is involved, hopefully minimizing the number of serious injuries.

As part of the campaign launch we were brought on by Periscope to create three unique print ads for USA Hockey promoting awareness of the dangers associated with body checking at a young age. We worked closely with Patrick Weld and Carmen Roselles at Periscope to bring the concepts to fruition.

It will no doubt be interesting to see how this shapes the future of hockey in the next 5 to 10 years. Thanks to all for making this a great shoot and we look forward to seeing the ads in print.